Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering 2013 Vol I,

WCE 2013, July 3 - 5, 2013, London, U.K.

The Use of Design for Six Sigma (DFSS)

Methodology in Product Design
Sheikh M. Shahrizal bin Mohd Rafique, Member, IAENG

Abstract Product Design is a process of creating new

product by an organization or business entity for its customer.
Being part of a stage in a product life cycle, it is very important
that the highest levels of effort are being put in the stage. If not
done properly, the product will create problems in the future
which in the end, come back to the company which designed
the product and the after effect might be catastrophic. This
paper demonstrates how Six Sigma Methodology is used in
Product Design. Six Sigma utilizes quality tools in the design
process in order to avoid future problems in the product. Each
phase of the Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) will have a unique
tool that can be used for Product Design. The Product Design
of an outdoor Wireless Access Point device named WIWI-1.8
will be used as a subject of reference in this paper.
Index TermsSix Sigma, Product Design, DFMEA, DFSS.

this opportunity thus bringing us to the first tool of the Six

Sigma Methodology which is the Team Charter.
Team Charter is a document that summarizes the project
in a single page. It shows the direction of the team and
serves as a contract between the stakeholders and team
members.
There a few elements that is compulsory in developing a
Team Charter, among them:
Business Case: Describes the benefit for undertaking
the project,
Opportunity Statement: The why of undertaking the
project
Goal Statement: Describes the objective of the project
in measureable terms.
Project Scope: Defines the boundaries of the project
Project Plan: Define the major milestones & timing &
Team Selection: Team members & responsibilities.

I. INTRODUCTION

ix Sigma approach in Product Design or better known as

Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) consist of five phases that a

Design Engineer has to follow. They are Define, Measure,
Analyse, Design and Verify (DMADV). In each of these
phases there are tools that will help to ensure that the
Product Design is properly done. These tool will ensure that
the Product will meet customer requirement (Six Sigma
takes the needs of the customer as inputs in the Define
phase) thus will give the customer higher satisfaction when
using the product. Six Sigma can be defined in formulation
as
Y= f(x)

Fig. 1.Team Charter for the WIWI 1.8 Project MIMOS Berhad 2012

Where Y is the quantitative representations of Customer

Requirement and f(x) are inputs that contribute to the
outcome of Y.
II. THE PHASES
A. Define
The Product Design cycle starts with the product
definition cycle or Define phase. In Define phase is where
we identify the business opportunity. When an opportunity
has been identified, which is usually will relates to the
growth of the company, a team will be formed to work on
Manuscript received Feb 01, 2013
Sheikh M.Shahrizal Mohd Rafique is a Staff Engineer with MIMOS
Berhad, Malaysia ( phone: +603-8995-5000 ; fax: +603-8991-4243 ; email: shahrizal.rafique@ mimos.my).

ISBN: 978-988-19251-0-7
ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online)

Fig. 2. Team Charter (Members & Responsibility) MIMOS Berhad

2012

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Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering 2013 Vol I,

WCE 2013, July 3 - 5, 2013, London, U.K.

Fig 1 & Fig 2 shows an example of Team Charter and the

information contains in it. Among the important information
that it show is the Goal Statement, in this case is To
Develop mechanical casing for WIWI 1.8 that comply with
the IEC IP65 Standards, Internal Operating Temperature <
75C by 25th Dec 2009. We can see here that the
objective of the project, the major specification and the
timeline is stated clearly.
The next step in the Define Phase of the Six Sigma Product
process is Defining the Customer Requirements. The
objective of this step is to identify internal/external
customer wants/needs or commonly known as Voice of
Customers (VOC) which can be translated into quantifiable
requirements. Here is where what the customer wants &
what their needs are. From here we can design a product
based on these inputs and deliver it according to the
customer expectations.
The Six Sigma tools used here are KJ Analysis or also
referred as the Affinity Diagram. It is named after its
inventor Kawakita Jiro. KJ Analysis allows the team to
quickly reach a consensus on priorities of subjective and
qualitative data.
In the example, VOCs are based on a question What do
you want for WIWI 1.8 design?

expectation but higher standards of Must-Bes

have little impact on satisfaction.

Fig. 4. Kano Satisfaction Model

Fig. 4 shows the Kano Satisfaction Model, consist of an (x,

y) graph, where the x-axis represents how good the Product
is in achieving customer requirement. The y-axis of the
Kano model records the customer satisfaction level.
Based on the above steps the features will be categorised
into their respective group.

Fig. 3. VOCs being grouped MIMOS Berhad 2012

VOCs are group into several group (Fig 3), team will then
vote for the group that has a higher priority. All the features
will then be identified whether they are NEW, UNIQUE,
STANDARD or DIFFICULT. The features from these
groups will then be transferred to another tool of Six Sigma,
which is Quality Functional Deployment.
KJ Analysis is always paired with Kano Analysis, Kano
analysis categorised Customer Requirement into four
categories:
Delighters: The absence of a delighter has little or no
negative impact, while introducing the delighter
generates excitement and satisfaction
Primary Satisfiers: More of a Satisfier leads to more
customer satisfaction, in generally linear
relationship
Indifferent: Refers to aspect that are neither good
nor bad and no real impact on customer
satisfaction.
Must-Bes: Necessary for a product to be seriously
considered i.e. product must meet the minimum
ISBN: 978-988-19251-0-7
ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online)

Fig. 5. Product Features Tabled Using Kano Analysis MIMOS Berhad

2012

B. Measure
The 2nd phase of using Six Sigma Methodology in
Product design is the Measure phase. Here is where we
translate the VOCs into measurable Critical Customer
Requirement (CCR). We will then able to identify the key
design factors and critical parameters that we have to
satisfy.
The tool that is being used here is the QFD. QFD will
analyse and document VOCs. It will structure all VOC into
a systematic representation of a product or process
development. A cross-functional team from all part of the
organization is needed in creating the QFD document.

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Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering 2013 Vol I,

WCE 2013, July 3 - 5, 2013, London, U.K.

After analysing the Technical Requirement in QFD, we

found out that in WIWI 1.8 design there a few item that are
Critical To Quality, among them is the Internal Temperature
requirement.

Fig. 7 Sub-system Requirement Obtained From QFD

Fig. 6 QFD Matrix a.k.a. House of Quality

Fig. 3 shows how the VOCs are transferred to the QFD

Matrix (on the left side of the matrix). From here the
Technical Requirement are identified. For example, the first
VOC that wants the Product to be ROBUST can be
translated into several Technical Specs such as Type of
Material (Casing) & Material Strength. All features will be
given scores against the Technical Requirement. Scores will
then be totaled and the highest Technical Requirement can
be determined.
QFD helps Design Engineers to reduce development
time; a large portion of project development is invested on
redoing the same activity several times and/or fixing
mistakes. QFD will create a better communication among
different functions of the company, people from marketing,
operation and other department work together with
designers in creating the QFD Matrix. All the features that
have been prioritised in the QFD are arranged into a graph
form called Pareto Chart.
From example of WIWI1.8 Design here, we can see that
among the most important specification that needs to be
look into is the Surface Area of the Heat Spreader (device
cooling system), Thermal conductivity and Ventilation holes
opening area. These parameters have been identified as
crucial in the Product Design. Design Engineers should pay
more attention to these parameters.

Fig.4 shows how Technical Requirements are translated

into CTQs. This process is called CTQ Flow-Down. From
here we can see parameters we need to control in our
Product Design.
To analyse further on the WIWI 1.8 Design another Six
Sigma tool can be used, the Design Failure Mode & Effect
Analysis (DFMEA).
It is important to anticipate the potential root cause that
any product could have. DFMEA uses RPN numbers as an
indicator of the level of seriousness of a potential failure. It
is derived from the Severity, Occurrence & Detection level
in DFMEA Matrix.
RPN = Severity Occurrence Detection
Severity level will indicate the level of impact of that
particular failure towards the final customer, may it be no
impact (lowest severity) or Hazardous without warning
(highest severity).
Occurrence is the likeliness the failure would happen.
Detection is the ability of the controls that have been put
in the process to detect the particular failure.
The higher the RPN number the higher the risk of the
potential failure. The Recommended Action section will
indicate the type of action to be taken to tackle the risk of
that particular potential failure thus lowering the RPN.

C. Analyse
Analyse here does not mean we analyse the product that
have been designed. It is more towards of analysing how the
design should be and identify CTQs. CTQs are Critical to
Quality metrics used to measure and evaluate the design by.
We know that in every Six Sigma based project the
objective (Y) is a function of X
Fig 8a: 1st Part of DFMEA MIMOS Berhad 2012

Y = f(X1, X2, X3.)

ISBN: 978-988-19251-0-7
ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online)

WCE 2013

RPN

Outdoor temperature too

high

Current
Design/Process
Control

Detection

Potential Cause(s)/
Mechanism of failure

Occurrence

Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering 2013 Vol I,

WCE 2013, July 3 - 5, 2013, London, U.K.

384

Recommende
d Actions

Introduce
cooling

Fig. 8b : 2nd part of DFMEA MIMOS Berhad 2012

In DFMEA, potential failure are analysed from the

highest system level to individual part of the product. For
the WIWI 1.8 product design example that is shown above,
we are looking at the potential failure of the PCB Assembly.
Fig. 8a & 8b shows the Potential Failure Mode and the
Potential Effect of the failure with the Severity rated at level
6 (Loss of Function). Since this product is used for outdoor,
the Potential Cause of failure is the Outdoor temperature
and the level of occurrence is set at level 8, meaning that
high quantity of product failure is expected from this Failure
Mode.

The categories mainly are:

i. Manpower/ People
ii. Methods/Design
iii.Materials
iv.Machinery
v. Environment
vi.Measurement
From these generic categories, we can brainstorm
possible causes of the observed effect. Fig. 9 below is the
sample for the Cause & Effect done for the WIWI 1.8
project? Here, the problem is with the internal temperature
of the product where it has exceeded 75C. We place the
problem statement at the head of the Cause & Effect
diagrams and create the generic branches to place the
respective categories mentioned above.

Fig. 8c 3rd Part of DFMEA MIMOS Berhad 2012

Fig. 9: Cause & Effect Diagram for High Internal Temperature Issue

The RPN number for this failure mode is 384. Comparing

this number to the other failure mode in the DFMEA, it is
among the highest and actions need to be taken to bring the
RPN number down.

After a brainstorming session among the team members,

the possible causes are listed in the category boxes. From
here the team members can plan the next cause of action.

Fig. 9c shows the 3rd section of DFMEA, Corrective

Actions will be specified here. Once corrective actions are
introduced, the Severity level will be improved thus
bringing down the RPN number. The use of DFMEA will in
a way will anticipate the potential failure that might occur in
a product thus at the same time increasing the product
quality and reliability.

D. Design
Once the Analyse phase is complete, the next phase in
using Six Sigma Methodology in Product Design is the
Design phase. The objective of this phase is to implement
all items that have been discussed in the Define, Measure &
Analyse phase into the detail design.

Another Six Sigma tool that is widely used in the Analyse

phase of Product Design is the Cause & Effect Diagram also
known as The Fishbone diagram. This tool will help
visually display the potential cause of a problem. Causes in
a Cause & Effect are usually categorized into several groups
which will help in identifying the root cause of the
problems.

ISBN: 978-988-19251-0-7
ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online)

Figure 10 below shows the original design received from

the Industrial Design group. It is seen here that the items
discussed in the earlier section of this paper are not
implemented in the initial design. Item such as ventilation
holes, which have been categorized as a critical item, is
necessary in order to lower down the RPN number for High
Outdoor Temperature issue.

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Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering 2013 Vol I,

WCE 2013, July 3 - 5, 2013, London, U.K.

As for WIWI 1.8, we have 3 Factors:i. Length of the ventilation hole

ii. Width of the ventilation hole
iii. Bottom area ventilation diameter

Fig 10. Industrial Designers Data for WIWI 1.8 MIMOS Berhad.

In Design stage, the ventilation holes were added to the

Back Cover of the WIWI 1.8 product. The question now is
What is the suitable size for the ventilation holes? In Six
Sigma there is a method in determining the optimize value
of certain parameters given the factors contributing to the
wanted output. The tool or method is called Design of
Experiments (DOE). DOE is method for planning,
conducting & analysing a test where the input factors
involved are changed in order to observe the changes in the
output of the system. One of the most known experimental
designs is the Factorial Experiments.
Minitab is the preferred statistical software used to plan
this DOE experiment. The features in Minitab allow
engineers to analyse the results of the experiments. In the
case of WIWI 1.8 is the optimization. Fig. 11 below shows
the planning side of the Minitab feature where you can
determine which type of experiment is suitable for your case
and the Run Order Table.

Fig 12: Experiment Run Order and the parameter settings

Fig 12 above shows the Run Order of the DOE

experiments that needs to be done. Depends on the budget
allocated & cost involved in the doing these experiments,
one can even use simulations tools in doing these
experiments. In this case, since the cost of developing the
prototype samples for the casing with the different variants
of ventilation size is expensive, we have instead used ProEngineer CAD modelling software to generate the
samples with the respective variants for the experiments.
Combined with Finite Element Analysis software,
Abaqus, we are able to get the results for the Internal
Thermal Behaviour of the WIWI 1.8 product.

Fig. 13 Thermal Simulation Using Abaqus

The result showed (Fig. 13) that the product reached a

steady state condition at 74.4C and the parameter settings
for this run are as below:
Fig. 11 Factorial Design Planning Table

ISBN: 978-988-19251-0-7
ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online)

Upper Vent Length

: 55.00mm
Upper Vent Width
: 2.20mm
Lower Vent Diameter : 1.75mm

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Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering 2013 Vol I,

WCE 2013, July 3 - 5, 2013, London, U.K.

From this DOE experiment, we are able to finalise the

casing design for WIWI 1.8 with the above ventilation
holes.

Fig. 15 Final Sample Undergoing Environmental Test

The 3 samples were subjected to the environmental test

and the result shows that the unit has an average surface
temperature of 38C and an internal temperature of 48C
Based on the result of the test, the team has decided to
proceed with the addition of the ventilation holes on the
casing of the WIWI 1.8.This new casing will be used for
mass production units.
III. CONCLUSION

Fig. 14 Updated Casing Design WIWI 1.8

E. Verify
Once the designs have been finalized, the next important
phase is the verification stage or as known in the DFSS
technique as Verify phase.
Why Verify? Verification is important; verification will tell
you that changes done in the Design stage is proven to be
working. From the design finalized in the DOE, actual
samples with produced by way of prototyping or other
methods. These samples will then be subjected to actual
temperature test. This will confirm how the design actually
performs in actual conditions.
This step is called Confirmation Runs. Doing Confirmation
Runs are important whether the designed parameters can be
implemented further for mass production parts. At least 3
samples are needed for the Confirmation Runs.
Figure 15 below shows one of the three samples tested
during the Confirmation Runs.

Why do we need to do all the steps that have been

described in this paper in developing a new product? When
an organisation embarks on a certain project, the main
objective is to satisfy the customer and in order to do this
you have to meet the customer requirements. Design with
the Six Sigma methodology (DMADV) is the best way to
ensure that your product meets everything that has been
specified. It covers all aspect of the design for the product
from product definition, critical requirement definition,
design optimization and the most important item of all,
quality.
With the help of tools such as KJ & Kano Analysis,
Quality Functional Deployment, Design of Experiments
(DOE), DFMEA and software such as MINITAB, ProEngineer and Abaqus, Six Sigma has proven to be a
very important part of Product Design. Thus aligning the
processes done in DMADV to the Product Development
process gates is crucial and shall help the organization
develop a good product
REFERENCES
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]

ISBN: 978-988-19251-0-7
ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online)

Creveling C.M. , Slutsky J.L. and Antis Dave. Design for Six Sigma
in technology and Product Development.
Spool Jared M. The KJ-Technique: A Group Process for Establishing
Priorities,2004
Motorola University. Design For Six Sigma: Introduction.
Akao Yoji. Quality Function Deployment: Integrating Customer
Requirements into Product Design.

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